A graduate of Thomas Aquinas College (B.A. in Liberal Arts) and The Catholic University of America (M.A. and Ph.D. in Philosophy), Dr. Peter Kwasniewski is currently Professor at Wyoming Catholic College. He is also a published and performed composer, especially of sacred music.

"Goupil deserves the name of martyr not only because he has been murdered by the enemies of God and His Church while laboring in ardent charity for his neighbor, but most of all because he was killed for being at prayer and notably for making the Sign of the Cross."
— St. Isaac Jogues (after the martyrdom of Saint René Goupil)

"Humanæ Vitæ" was promulgated 25 July 1968
ODERN PEOPLE can tolerate almost anything except a person’s being, or becoming, a Catholic. Everybody, everything, is to be tolerated—except Catholics.

This makes me think more deeply about the nature of the truth: the truth must be persecuted in this world, our Lord assures us of that, and if He had said nothing about it, His very death would have been evidence enough. The moment we see a religion or a philosophy chumming up to the world and receiving its flattery, we know, ipso facto, that it must be false. It is a strange and melancholy thing, this hatred of truth; it is surely one of the deepest wounds of original sin and one of the strongest testimonies to the fallen state of mankind. But at the same time, there is a consolation in knowing that the truth can often be recognized precisely by the unsavory character and selfish motives of those who oppose it.

Years ago, a dear friend of mine who had the rare combination of an appreciation for the natural world and a lucid intellect found herself strongly attracted to the Catholic faith because it was the only religion which unequivocally condemns artificial birth control, which she rightly saw as a perversion of nature. I remember how she said to me that Protestantism was simply not an option for her, since all Protestants uphold the primacy of individual conscience, and it was obvious to her that conscience can be erroneous. Buddhism was out of the question because, no matter what variety or sect one examines, it denies the reality of the world of experience, denies a divine First Principle, and denies personal immortality—all of which my friend, nourished on Plato and Aristotle, saw to be philosophically absurd. Islam repulsed her for two reasons: if you take the popular version, it has a slavish understanding of man’s relationship to God together with a history of violence and sensuality; if you take the refined intellectualized version, it has all the difficulties one finds in “perennialist” thinkers like Guénon, Schuon, Nasr, and the like, who write eloquently about primaeval revelation, common tradition, ritual and meaning, but who never adequately face the irreducible uniqueness of Christianity and its non-translatable claims. In other words, my friend spent years going through the claims “out there,” sifting, weighing, pondering, comparing; and like so many other intelligent people of goodwill in modern times, she came to the conclusion—which now strikes her as obvious—that the Catholic faith is the one true religion. By seeing that other paths lead to dead ends, she could find the one path that leads to everlasting life.

THEPILGRIMAGE TO THE TRUTH of the Catholic faith is never “easy,” but surely it is easier for those who see that something is radically wrong with modernity—that the modern experiment, whether in economics and politics, or in the servile and fine arts, or in culture and life in general, has failed and is failing ever more with each passing day. Such persons can see that whatever the true religion is, it must be essentially opposed to the errors of modern times. (As a side note, I don’t think it is always perfectly clear what is erroneous and deranged, what is tolerable or acceptable, and what is positively good in modern times; errors and vices are often mixed up with insights and virtues, like two plants that have grown together into one twisted hybrid. One can have a tough time sorting out the good from the bad. That is part of the problem of first principles, isn’t it? Principles are excellent, strong, firm, unshakeable—but they don’t come with instructions as to how to apply them to particular cases! Experience, prudence, good judgment, subtlety and perceptiveness, are all necessary for making successful application of first principles to some of the particulars of modernity. But I digress.)

It is, therefore, a great sign of the truth of the Catholic faith that, precisely in the modern world, the Church is opposed everywhere by nearly everyone. There is no party or philosophy or sect that does not save its worst denunciations and fiercest calumny for the Catholic Church. Protestant sects in their rainbow diversity may agree to leave each other alone, but nearly all of them agree to hate Catholicism, or at least hold it at bay. The many autocephalous Eastern Orthodox churches may have jurisdictional or doctrinal differences among themselves, but they allow one another the unlimited enjoyment of liturgical reveries and never make much of an appearance on the world scene, for good or for ill. But the most “orthodox” Orthodox Christians turn red in the face when the Roman Catholic Church is mentioned. The same reaction tends to be seen, in a more or less pronounced manner, among Jews and Moslems, as well as votaries of Far Eastern religions. What is all this, but the unanimous confirmation of Christ’s assurance to His Apostles that they would be fiercely opposed, bitterly persecuted, to the ends of the earth and until the end of time?

What I wish to emphasize here is the universality and unanimity of this modern opposition. It does not suffice to have a neighboring sect or a merely local church condemn you; that would be too easy to arrange. You need to have the whole world against you—the secular atheistic world of journalism and politics, the world of the so-called “Great Religions,” the Protestant world, the Eastern Orthodox world. When you have all of these forces lined up against you, then “blessed are you”! This is certainly a sign that the Catholic Church, especially in the person of her Sovereign Pontiffs, is preaching the fullness of the Gospel, a sign of contradiction to this age and to every age.

In conclusion, may I quote the always provocative Walker Percy?

“Life is a mystery, love is a delight. Therefore I take it as axiomatic that one should settle for nothing less than the infinite mystery and the infinite delight: i.e., God. In fact, I demand it. I refuse to settle for anything less . . . I took it as an intolerable state of affairs to have found myself in this life and in this age, which is a disaster by any calculation, without demanding a gift commensurate with the offence.” (Signposts in a Strange Land)

Opinions expressed by blog contributors do not necessarily represent those of Corpus Christi Watershed.|If you appreciate this blog, please consider donating $5.00 per month. We have no major donors, no salaried employees, and no endowment.

Priests have expressed concern about throwing the Word of God into the garbage every few months. The Isaac Jogues Illuminated Missal contains the complete Sunday readings for Years ABC, complete Gradual texts, and magnificent page layouts.

Watershed assisted the Birmingham Oratory with media work leading up to the Papal visit and Beatification of John Henry Cardinal Newman. Our documentary shorts provide online tours of the Oratory, including the Cardinal’s Room and Library as well as the parish church and its chapels.

St. Jennings was executed for being a Catholic priest. Seized whilst in the act of saying Mass in the house of St. Swithun Wells, he was hanged, drawn and quartered outside the same house. His execution was particularly bloody. St. Swithun Wells was hanged immediately afterwards.

This new Gregorian Chant Mass (with optional organ accompaniment) uses the new ICEL translation of the Roman Missal. We provide free practice videos, vocalist scores in modern and Gregorian notation, congregational booklets, and much more!

Kevin Allen's brilliant new SATB collection of twelve (12) Sacred Motets that can be used all throughout the Liturgical year. 144 Practice videos by Matthew J. Curtis. Optional Psalm tones written out for each piece, in Latin & English.

Here is a newly-composed Gregorian Chant GLORIA in honor of Saint Edmund Arrowsmith (†1628). Please feel free to download the PDF organist scores, PDF vocalist scores (in both Modern and Gregorian notation). This setting uses the new ICEL translation of the Roman Missal.

A 70-page collection of polyphonic Motets that can be sung by the average parish choir! Although the pieces were designed for SSA or TTB choirs, they also work well for mixed choirs. Matthew has also recorded 56 free practice videos to help your choir members learn these beautiful pieces.

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to people of good will. We praise you, we bless you, we adore you, we glorify you, we give you thanks for your great glory, Lord God, heavenly King, O God, almighty Father . . .

If you have an SATB choir that would love a brand new collection of dignified, beautiful, not-too-difficult motets, you need to check out Kevin Allen's "Cantiones Sacrae Simplices." Vocal phenomenon Matthew J. Curtis has also recorded more than 144 practice videos which carefully instruct singers who do not read music well. All 144 training videos are free!

Watershed assisted the Birmingham Oratory with media work leading up to the Papal visit and Beatification of John Henry Cardinal Newman. Our documentary shorts provide online tours of the Oratory, including the Cardinal’s Room and Library as well as the parish church and its chapels.

Distinguished composer Kevin Allen has set twelve Eucharistic Motets for three voices. Although the pieces were designed for SSA or TTB choirs, they also work well for mixed choirs, and a special transposition table has been included for the ease of the choirmaster. Choirmasters and singers will appreciate the fact that these pieces are not difficult to sing.

An hour-long documentary on Sacred Music. Watershed's cameras take you inside the 19th annual Sacred Music Colloquium, sponsored by the Church Music Association of America. The DVD includes a 45-minute, never-before-seen interview with Dr. William Mahrt, CMAA President & Stanford Professor.

The Rt. Rev'd Dom Hervé Courau, Abbat of Notre Dame de Triors, has authorised Watershed to post the Community's Gregorian chant recordings on our sites. For this gracious permission, sincere thanks to Father Abbat, also in the name of all those chanters who will profit from studying these beautiful sung prayers of the Church.

John Henry Newman was born in London (2/21/1801) and died in Birmingham (8/11/1890). As Vicar of St Mary’s Oxford he exerted a profound spiritual influence on the Church of England. Through his extensive published writings and private correspondence he created a greater understanding of the Catholic Church.

This is part of our ongoing Liturgical work, and we are grateful to the many guest composers who generously donate their scores. In addition, we offer free resources for all the other parts of the Mass, and currently provide more than 6,000 free Liturgical scores.

Kevin Allen's world-famous SATB "Tantum Ergo" is now in print. This piece has been enjoyed by many thousands of people, and is featured as the opening piece on "Sacred, Beautiful, & Universal: Colloquium XIX." Corpus Christi Watershed is proud to offer this Motet, along with fourteen other beautiful Motets, in "Cantiones Sacrae II."

Corpus Christi Watershed is a 501(c)3 public charity dedicated to exploring and embodying as our calling
the relationship of religion, culture, and the arts. This non-profit organization employs the creative
media in service of theology, the Church, and Christian culture for the enrichment and enjoyment of the public.